CLAY TOWNSHIP

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS


Billing Issues
	What are your office hours?
	What is the mission of the District?
	What type of service does the CTRWD bill cover?
	Does the District also provide trash pick-up?
	How is my bill calculated?
	What is residential balanced billing?
	What are some advantages of residential balanced billing?
	What happens when my balanced bill consumption goes up or down?
	I moved into this house after December; how do you set my balanced bill consumption?
	When is my bill due?
	Can I view or pay my bill online?
	Where can I pay my bill?
	Can the District do automatic deductions from my checking account?
	I am on city water; when will you read the meter?
	My water utility has given me an adjustment on my bill. Will my sewer bill also be adjusted?
	The water company has billed me for 15 units of water; how does the District calculate a billing of 11 units?

Service Issues
	None of my toilets flush and all my internal building drains are stopped up!!!
	There's a heavy sewer odor inside my property.
	I need to report a sewer or manhole that is overflowing.
	I think I may have gotten ill from contact with wastewater - how can I tell and what can I do?
	I need to excavate on my property: how do I know where the sewers are located?

What are your office hours?
We are open Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

What is the mission of the District?
The District’s mission as a municipal corporation and public utility is to assure that the growth of the community is done in an environmentally sound method. The District strives to provide service that will support growth and needs of the community. We are also bound to provide a waste handling system for the District’s service area as may be required to protect the health and welfare of present and future residents, businesses and industries.

What type of service does the CTRWD bill cover?
This monthly billing covers the cost of treating sanitary wastewater that leaves your residence or business. Once the water is treated and meets the requirements of the State of Indiana, it may be safely released back out into the environment.

Does the District also provide trash pick-up?
The District only provides sanitary sewer service. You may want to check with a neighbor or your homeowners association for trash service.

How is my bill calculated?
Residential customers with private wells as their water source pay a flat rate of $23.00. This rate is equivalent metered water usage of 7,000 gallons per month. Residential customers with water service provided by Indianapolis Water or Carmel Utilities pay a base charge of $9.56 per residential unit and a use charge of $1.92 per 1,000 gallons based on their annual balanced consumption usage.
Commercial customers with private wells as their water source pay a flat rate based on the property use. Commercial customers with water service provided by Indianapolis Water or Carmel Utilities pay a base charge applicable to the size of the meter (s) at the service location and the property use and a use charge of $1.92 per 1,000 gallons of water consumed. Please refer to Ordinance #10-09-2006 for a complete listing of charges.

What is residential balanced billing?
Residential balanced billing is a consistent monthly sewer bill based on a residential customer’s average water usage. A customer’s average is established based on winter water usage and this volume is used for sewer billing for 12 months starting in June. A new billing average is established each June based on the previous winter’s average water usage.

What are some advantages of residential balanced billing?
Residential balanced billing will provide a consistent bill amount over 12 months. Each customer receives a balanced bill based on their metered water usage. Balanced billing eliminates the monthly fluctuation that often occurs from using estimated water meter readings. Summer lawn watering is excluded from the amount because the balanced bill consumption is based only on winter meter readings.

What happens when my balanced bill consumption goes up or down?
The balanced rate consumption amount for each account is set in June and is used for the next 12 months. Any change in consumption amount affects only the future bills. There are no extra charges or credits at the end of the 12-month period.

I moved into this house after December; how do you set my balanced bill consumption?
New accounts use a balanced bill consumption of 7,000 gallons. This amount is used to calculate the balanced bill until you have winter readings to establish a new balanced bill amount.

When is my bill due?
Your sewer bill will always be due on the 20th of the month. Your billing is always from the 6th of the prior month to the 6th of the current month. After the 20th, a late fee will be added of 10% of the current balance only.

Where can I pay my bill?
Payments should be mailed to CTRWD, P.O. Box 40638, Indianapolis, Indiana 46240-0638. If you prefer to pay in person, our office is located at 10701 N. College Suite A. You are always welcome to come in our office or use our drive-up drop box that is located in front of the Government Center

Can I view or pay my bill online?
Your sewer account is not available online at this time. Please contact Customer Service at (317) 844-9200 for any questions you may have on your account.

Can the District do automatic deductions from my checking account?
Our new billing system offers the option of having your monthly bill automatically deducted from your checking account. The form for auto debit is available to download from our website or you may call our office to have one mailed to you. You will need to fill out this form and send it along with a blank voided check. Once this is received in our office, it will take two billing cycles to become effective. The bank runs a “pre-note” the first month to make sure all account information is correct. The next month will be your actual debit. You will still get a bill every month and it will state on your bill that the amount due will be deducted from your checking account on the 20^th.

I am on city water; when will you read the meter?
The District does not read meters since these are provided by the water utilities. The District receives your meter reading from the water utilities. If you have questions regarding your meter readings, you should contact IWC at 631-1431 or Carmel Utilities at 571-2442.

My water utility has given me an adjustment on my bill. Will my sewer bill also be adjusted?
The District will make an adjustment if the water utility adjustment affects the sewer bill. For a residential customer with balanced billing, if the adjustment affects some or all of the months that are used to calculate the average winter consumption, then the average and the affected bills will be adjusted. For a commercial customer, the bill will be adjusted in accordance with the water utility adjustment. Adjustments will be made after the District receives notification of the water bill adjustment from the water utility.

The water company has billed me for 15 units of water; how does the District calculate a billing of 11 units?
IWC bills in 100 cubic units. The District bills in 1,000 gallon units. From the example above you would need to do the following: IWC units 7.5 gall in a cubic ft of water 11,250/1000 = 11.25 15 x 100 x 7.5 = 11,250 total gallons billed Rounded to the nearest whole number 11

None of my toilets flush and all my internal building drains are stopped up!!!
Check your exterior cleanout. Cleanouts are normally installed on your service lateral within about three (3) feet of your foundation. It should have a white threaded cap on it and is probably close to level with the surrounding grade. Cleanouts are often landscaped around, so check your foundation planting beds. With water running in your home or business, take off the cap and use a flashlight to see if any wastewater is flowing past the cleanout. If it is flowing, it's likely a problem in your house plumbing that a plumbing contractor will need to fix.
If there is no obvious flow or the cleanout is full of standing water, that will either mean a problem with your service lateral between your cleanout and the tie-in point with our main sewer line. Or it could be caused by a blockage or failure in the main sewer line. In either case, call our office during normal business hours (8 to 4:30 Monday through Friday) at 844-9200 and our staff will come diagnose the problem.
After business hours, contact our Emergency Service at 870-9136 and describe the problem for them so our staff will be prepared when the service contacts them. When we are contacted, our staff will respond within the hour, so expect to see someone with a CTRWD vehicle and clothing with our logo. If you have doubts that someone is a CTRWD employee, please ask them for identification as well and report any problems to the Utility Director at the main office.
Once the problem has been identified, responsibility for any repairs can be determined. The District is responsible only for the main line sewers and the lateral stub to your property line where your service line ties in. If the problem is in this area, CTRWD will make sure it's resolved in a timely manner. If the problem is found to be in your service lateral or in your internal building plumbing, the property owner is responsible.
Once the problem has been identified, responsibility for any repairs can be determined. The District is responsible only for the main line sewers and the lateral stub to your property line where your service line ties in. If the problem is in this area, CTRWD will make sure it's resolved in a timely manner. If the problem is found to be in your service lateral or in your internal building plumbing, the property owner is responsible.

There's a heavy sewer odor inside my property.
This is usually caused by the presence of a dry trap in a sink or floor drain that has not been used in awhile. Pour water into the drain to fill the trap; this acts as a block between the normal organic odors in your sanitary plumbing and the living areas of your property.
Another potential cause is a blocked roof vent. Each bathroom should be vented beyond the roof line to allow the plumbing system to operate properly and dissipate normal sewer gases to the atmosphere. Birds may find your vents attractive as nesting sites and can be a prime cause of vent blockage. Keep those vents clear and you will eliminate one potential source of sewer odors!

I need to report a sewer or manhole that is overflowing.
An overflowing sewer or manhole constitutes an emergency for CTRWD so please call our office immediately at 844-9200 (Monday through Friday between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.). During all other times, call our Emergency Service at 870-9136 so that we can promptly investigate.
Try as we might to prevent them, situations do arise that cause sewer blockages that result in overflows. Cooking grease, garbage disposal debris or other foreign objects can accumulate in sewer lines and create restrictions. Please be sure to keep children and pets away from a suspected sanitary sewer overflow as contact with untreated wastewater can be hazardous to their (and your) health. If there is contact with untreated wastewater, wash immediately and thoroughly with anti-bacterial soap.

I think I may have gotten ill from contact with wastewater - how can I tell and what can I do?
Symptoms of illness associated with contact with wastewater could include diarrhea or nausea. Symptoms of illness from contact with wastewater are normally felt in a few hours. Contact with certain wastewater borne bacteria such as E coli can cause kidney failure and even be potentially fatal. If you have had contact with wastewater, be sure to wash repeatedly with an anti-bacterial soap and keep affected areas away from parts of the body such as the eyes, mouth, or nose, and avoid contact with open wounds or cuts. If you suspect that you need help, please contact appropriate medical and health care professionals.

I need to excavate on my property: how do I know where the sewers are located?
"Call Before You Dig!" Indiana law requires two full working days (48 hours) notice to utilities before underground excavation can occur. Call Holey Moley (the Indiana Underground Plant Protection Service) at 1-800-382-5544 and give them the information on where and when you plan to dig. As a member of Holey Moley, CTRWD will be notified for excavations in our service area and mark the locations or sewer mains or laterals in the public right of way. Laterals on private property will not be marked as they are the property owner's responsibility. If you would like a copy of the inspection report on file for your property, then please call our main office at 844-9200. For utilities which are not members of the Holey Moley network, you will need to contact them directly.
For contact numbers with other utilities or units of local government, scroll down to the Directory for phone numbers and addresses. Or Go to Links for internet sites for local government and wastewater related websites.